Delay to opening of major Rafah crossing from Egypt to Gaza

The planned opening of the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip will be delayed, according to Israeli authorities on Thursday.

The reopening of the major border crossing comes against the background of the peace plan to end the war in Gaza, which was signed on Monday.

“The date for the opening of the Rafah Crossing for the movement of people only will be announced at a later stage, once the Israeli side, together with the Egyptian side, completes the necessary preparations,” said COGAT, the Israeli Defence Ministry agency tasked with providing logistical assistance to Palestinian territories.

Egyptian sources said the opening of the Rafah crossing for the movement of people could be delayed up to Sunday.

A COGAT spokesman said that the crossing would not be used for humanitarian aid even after it was opened for the movement of people. “This was never agreed upon at any stage,” he said.

Humanitarian aid would continue to cross into the Gaza Strip following security checks at the Kerem Shalom crossing in Israel near the Egyptian border and at other crossings between Israel and the Gaza Strip, “in full compliance with the signed agreement,” he said.

Deliveries have been expanded under the agreement between Israel and Hamas. In the first phase, around 600 trucks carrying aid are supposed to enter every day.

Following a partial withdrawal of its troops, Israel continues to control more than half of the Gaza Strip.

A nurse working with Doctors Without Borders (MSF) told Swiss radio that aid deliveries were entering only slowly.

“People continue to live in tents, without proper water and electricity supply,” Katja Storck said. She added that materials for caring for patients, including wheelchairs, were lacking.